Detachable deck for marine vessels.



No. 78,797. Patented Nov. I8, I902;

.1. w. POWELL. I DETACHABLE DECK FOB MARIN'E VESSELS.

(Application filed June {3, 1902.)

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IIHIIIIIIIIHIIIIII Thi: nomus mus m. Pnomumof.\vnsuummw r) c JOSEPH XV. POWVELL, OF

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FARNIIAMVILLE, IOWA.

DIETACHABLE DECK FOR MARINE VESSELS.

SPECIFICATIQN forming part of Letters Patent No. 713,797, dated November 18, 1902.

Application filed June 6,1902. Serial No. 110,437. (No model.)

To [all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH W. POWELL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Farnhamville, in the county of Calhoun and State of Iowa, have invented a new and useful Detachable Deck for Marine Vessels, of which the following is a specification.

My object is to prevent the loss of life and property incident to the wrecking, sinking, and destruction of boats, ships, and other vessels adapted for navigating rivers, lakes, and oceans.

My invention consists in the construction, arrangement,and combination of a detachable deck for vessels and means for fastening and unfastenin g it, as hereinafter set forth, pointed out in my claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which' Figure 1 is a side elevation of the hull of a vessel and shows a detachable deck and means for detachabl y fastening the deck at the sides of the body or hull of the vessel. Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view of the hull and shows mechanism on each side of the hull for fastening the deck to the hull and means for simultaneously loosening the fastenings on each side by connection with a rotatable shaft adapted to be connected with an engine on the vessel and also adapted to be operated by hand,

The numeral designates the body or hull of a vessel that may vary in configuration and dimensions, as desired.

An auxiliary deck 12 is fitted on the central portion of the top of the hull to extend across the top, as shown in Fig. 2, and fastened to the sides in such a manner that persons, mail-matter, and other valuable property can be placed thereon in time of danger and prevented from being sunk with the vessel by freeing the deck and allowing it to float on the surface of the water and away from the sinking vessel in time to escape destruction.

Screw-seats 13 are fixed in the side walls of the vessel for securing screws extended intothem from the outside of the vessel through coinciding apertures in the walls and in angle-bars 14, fixed to the deck 12. The screws 15 have heads adapted to serve as sprocketwheels 16 for supporting an endless chain 17 at the side of the vessel, as shown in Fig. 1,

or in any suitable way in such a manner that all the screws with which the chain is connected can be rotated and loosened from the fixed screw-seats 13 at the same time, as required, to allow the deck 12 to separate from the vessel.

A rotatable shaft 18, adapted to be connected with the motor-propelling power of the vessel, has a fixed bevel gear-wheel 19. 20 and 21 are rotatable shafts extended at right angles to the shaft 18, as shown in Fig. 2, and on their outer ends are fixed sprocket-wheels 22 and 23 of larger diameter than the wheels 16 on the head ends of the screws 15.

Endless chains 17 are placed on the sprocketwheels on each side of the vessel, and idlers 26 and 27 on journals fixed to the vessel serve to direct the chains relative to the Wheels and to keep the chains in operative positions, as required, for rotating the screws 15 and freeing them from the fixed screw-seats 13 to loosen the deck 12. It is obvious the length of the screws 15 and thelengths of the chains 17 on the sprocket-wheels must be so proportioned that the inclinations of the chains relative to the sides of the vessel will not cause the screws to bind or the chains from slipping from the sprocket-wheels before the screws are detached from the screw-seats and the deck liberated.

Bevel-gears 28 and 29 are slidingly mounted on the inner ends of the shafts 20 and 21 and normally retained in engagement with the bevel gear-Wheel 19 in such a manner that both shafts 20 and 21 will be actuated,

as required, to loosen the screws on both sides of the vessel at the same time.

The hubs of the wheels 28 and 29 are pro vided with arms 31, by which the wheels and. shafts can be operated manually for loosening the screws and freeing the deck when it is impractical to utilize the motor or engine on the vessel for such purpose.

Having thus described the purpose, construction, and operation of my invention, its practical utility will be understood and appreciated by persons exposed to the perils of shipwreck, and

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. An auxiliary deck for a vessel, irons fixed to the deck to extend downward, screw- 5 seats, and means for rotating the screws, ar-

ranged and combined to operate in the manner set forth for the purposes stated.

2. An auxiliary deck for a vessel, irons fixed to the deck to extend downward, screw- [0 seats fixed in the sides of the vessel, screws provided with sprocket-wheels at their head ends extended through apertures in the irons fixed to the deck and into the fixed screwseats, endless chains on the sprocket-wheels 15*on the ends of the screws and means for rotating the screws, arranged and combined to operate in the manner set forth for the purposes stated. 4

3. An auxiliary deck for vessels, having fixed angle-irons provided with apertures for screws, screw-seats fixed in the sides of a vessel, screws having sprocket-wheels fixed to their head ends, shafts mounted in the vessel to extend out through the sides, sprocketwheels fixed to the outer ends of said shafts, endless chains on the sprocket wheels, a shaft adapted to be connected with an engine on the vessel and bevel gear-wheels on said shaft, bevel gear-wheels slidingly mounted on the inner ends of the shafts that have fixed sprocket-wheels on their outer ends and arms fixed to the hubs of said sliding wheels, arranged and combined to operate in the manner set forth for the purposes stated.

JOSEPH W. POWELL. Witnesses:

J. H. POWELL, E. B. WILSON. 

